Death Penalty
Kennedy Deciding Death Penalty Vote
The U.S. Supreme Court has reinstated the death sentence of a man who argued a potential juror who expressed misgivings about capital punishment should not have been excluded.
The court ruled 5-4 the state court judge was in a superior position to decide whether to seat the juror, and federal courts should defer to that judgment, SCOTUSblog reports.
The juror had said he would not impose the death penalty unless the defendant could be in a position to kill again, according to Associated Press.
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the majority opinion; he has been the deciding vote in every death penalty case this session, AP says.
The case is Uttecht v. Brown, No. 06-413 (PDF).
